Who Loves School Breakfast? Ohio Loves School Breakfast!

We loved following the #NSBW18 hashtag and seeing all of your school breakfast celebrations from around the country during National School Breakfast Week 2018! This year’s theme –“I Heart School Breakfast” – was extra-fun for social media, and your creative use of emojis, clip art, and funny GIFs kept us smiling all week long.

We were invited to visit some of our funded districts in Ohio to help celebrate National School Breakfast Week. Along with other stakeholders we were fortunate to experience the energy and excitement of #NSBW18 ourselves, and to see the direct impact of our breakfast-in-the-classroom grants in districts around the state.

Logan-Hocking School District

During #NSBW18 we stopped by Chieftain Elementary in the Logan-Hocking School District to celebrate their new, grant-funded breakfast-in-the-classroom program. In addition to our friends from Children’s Hunger Alliance we were joined by representatives from the Logan-Hocking Education Association, the NEA Foundation, the Ohio Education Association, and more. Media was on hand to document the celebrations, and we were grateful for the opportunity to share the benefits of school breakfast, and how alternative delivery models can improve participation.

Another stop on our tour of Ohio districts was Indian Creek Schools, where a breakfast-in-the-classroom program has really helped increase participation—they have served 23,000 more breakfasts compared to the same time last year. Wow!

Partners for BIC also had the opportunity to visit Southern Local School District during National School Breakfast Week. Southern Local received a Partners for BIC grant for almost $48,000, to assist the implementation of breakfast-in-the-classroom at every grade level. A mix of delivery styles will help Southern Local customize their program for efficiency; young students (Pre-K through grade 2) will have breakfast delivered directly to the classroom, while students in grades 3-8 will ‘Grab n’ Go’ from the cafeteria line back to their classrooms. Finally, high school students will also have a ‘Grab n’ Go’ style service, but point(s) of sale will be located in the hallway rather than the cafeteria.

Does the idea of a district-wide breakfast-in-the-classroom rollout intimidate you? Read more about how Southern Local School District will roll out their breakfast-in-the-classroom program in stages.

Garfield Heights

The #NSBW18 party continued during our visit to Garfield Heights City Schools where Ohio Education Association vice-president Scott DiMauro says visitors were warmly welcomed by school staff.

“All of our visits were great, including Garfield Heights” said DiMauro. “We had a lot of positive feedback with people asking questions, and hopefully people will get more involved with breakfast-in-the-classroom. It was also really great to be there with representatives from other organizations, like Children’s Hunger Alliance.”

Wellston City Schools are also recipients of a Partners for BIC grant, and their #NSBW18 celebration included a visit from a local representative. Inviting your local officials to school for National School Breakfast Week is a great way to engage them, and generate a little positive PR for everyone!

We had a really good, informal roundtable discussion with Representative Ryan Smith,” said DiMauro. “There were a lot of opportunities to address topics of food insecurity and hunger in the area, it was a positive discussion.”

🎒 Millions of students are fed by the School Breakfast Program, equipping them with the nutrition necessary to start the school day right. Explore more about the impact of #SchoolBreakfast in our school breakfast report: https://t.co/yOqLNGxCo9